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No. 625,708. -1 Patented may 2s, |899. L. SILVEHMAN.

(Application led Oct. 7, 1898.) (N0 Model.) 2 Sheets-SIBB l.

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' Nu. 625,708. Patented May 23, i899.

L. SILVERMAN..

LOCK.

(Application led Oct. '7, 1898.)

{No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

UNITED STATES PATENT EEICE.

LOUIS SILVERMAN, OF CRAYFORD, ENGLAND.

LOCK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of' 'Letters Patent No. 625,708,01ated May 23, 1899.

Application filed October '7, 1898.

T0 a/ZZ Milton/11.1375 may con/007%:

Be it known that I, LOUIS SILVERMAN, engineer, a subject of the Queen of Great Britain, residing at Crayford Works, Crayford, county of Kent, England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Locks and Keys, of which the following is a specilication.

This invention has for its chief object to so construct a lock that its key does not require any choice of position for inserting it into the keyhole. For this 'purpose the bolt of the lock is adapted to be retracted by the endwise movement of a cylindrical or other block carrying a series of tumblersso contrived as to be operated by a key in the shape of a ta-l pered spindle having a smooth or a longitudinally-serrated surface formedwith a series of annular or circularly-disposed projections or depressions. The shape and position of these projections or depressions are such that when the key is thrust into the keyhole the series of tumblers will be shifted into a position to release the tumbler-carrier and permit the latter to be pushed inward by the key, and thereby disengage the bolt of the lock. The lock is also so constructed that even if all the tumblers should be surreptitiously moved by an instrument other than the proper key into a position to disengage them from their locking position they would not of necessity thereby release the said tumbler-carrier, means being provided whereby the movement ofany one of them beyond a predetermined position depending upon the formation of the proper key would relock the tumblercarrier and prevent it from being shifted inward, as aforesaid. I also provide the tum-` bler-carrier with means whereby it'will be assisted to resume4 its normal position by the act of 4withdrawing the key. I thus avoid the use of a strong spring for returning the bolt of the lock to its locked position.

In order that my invention may be clearly understood and readily carried into effect, I will proceed to describe the same fully with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l isa horizontal section of a latchlock constructed in accordance with my invention and applied to a door. Fig. 2 is an elevation of the lock as seen from the inside seal No. 692,937. LN@ man.)

of the door, and Fig. 3 is an elevation of the lock as seen from the outside of the door. Figs. 4 and 5 are transverse sections taken, respectively, on the lines l l and 2 2 of Fig. l and drawn to aV larger'scale. Fig. 6 is an elevation, and Fig. 7 a cross-section on the line 3 3 of Fig. 6, showing a slotted tixed sleeve with which the tumbler-carrier is surrounded, the purpose of which will be hereinafter described. Fig. 8 is an elevation, and Fig. 9 a front end view,'of the key, on an enlarged scale, for use with this lock. Figs. 10 and 1l are similar views showing a modified construction of the key. Fig. l2 is an elevathe keyhole when a key of the kind illustrated in Figs. 10 and 1l `is employed. vA is the bolt, which in the example illustrated is adapted to slide horizontally against the resistance of a spring A', contained in a lock-casing A2. B is a knob by which such bolt can be operated bya person from the inside ot' the door. Y

C is the tu mbler-carrier, which is connected with the boltA, so as to withdraw the latter when said carrier is moved inward, as hereinafter explained, and D D are the tumblers. The said tumbler-carrier is preferably made 4cylindrical and has a central hole c therein for the key to enter. a number of transverse slotted openings c for the reception of the tumblers D, which are all retained in place by a single pivotpin d'.V These tumblers are adapted to normally lie with a portion d' of their inner edge projecting slightly into the said hole and with their free ends or noses d2 prolonged beyond the surface of the said cylindrical carrier C. The said noses are kept pressed toward the bottom of the slotted openings c by springs with two series of transverse or radial slots e e2, each series opening into a longitudinal slot e, situated between the two series. (See Figs. 6 and 7.)- The inner end of the said sleeve is closed by a fixed disk e3, Fig. l, around which the inner edge fof a thin outer casing F is bent to avoid any liability of the said disk from being pushed out of place by the cylindrical carrier. The said casing `F incloses the said sleeve andis connected there- It likewise has therein tion similar to Fig. 3 and shows the shape of.,

d3, as shown -in Fig. 4. Around the said car-` rier C is a fixed sleeve E, which is formed- IOO with by radial screwsff, Figs. 4 and 5. It is provided with a hollow collar f2, that bears against the surface of the door G and supports the outer end'or boss E of the said fixed sleeve E. The door G, to which the lock is applied, is formed with a hole or cavity g, into which the casing F, containing the sleeve E and the tumbler-carrier C, is tted and held in place by a screw e4, extending 'from the sole-plate of the lock-casing A2 to the disk e3, as clearly shown in Fig. 1. The said tumbler-carrier C has a fixed longitudinal pin c2, which is of such a length that its inner end will lie adjacent to one limb of a bell-crank ct, contained in the lock-casing A2, the other limb of such bell-crank engaging with a shoulder a. on a sliding rod a2, connected with the bolt A. The spiral spring A' surrounds the said rod a2 and acts to press the bolt A into a position to engage with the socket a3 on the doorjamb G. carrier is released, as hereinafter explained, and pushed inward its pin c2 operates the bell-crank a, which in turn acts upon the shoulder o. and retracts the boltA to permit the opening of the door. The aforesaid knob B projects through a slot bin the lock-casing and is connected with a sliding piece b', whose end lies in front of the aforesaid shoulder a'. The rod a2 can thus be actuated from the inside of the door to retract the bolt A by operating the knob B.

The key for operating the .tumblers D and releasing the carrier C to permit its being shifted inward, as aforesaid, is in Figs. 8 and 9 in the form of a slightly-tapered spindle H, having a-series of annular acting surfaces or depressions h therein, the number and position of these acting surfaces being such that when the key is thrust fully home into the lock they will come against the portion d of the various tumblers and move them into a position to bring all their noses d2 out of the series of transverse or radial slots e in the casing E and cause all of them to lie in alinement with each other in the longitudinal slot e. The tumblers having assumed this position, they no longer resist the inward movement of the carrier C when the latter is pushed inward by pushing the key. The extent to which the key can be thrust into the carrier to release the tumblers is limited by forming its inner end with a shoulder 7L to bear against a corresponding` cavity cis in the inner end of the carrier. Thus when the key is pushed fully home into the carrier it first brings the noses of the tumblers into the longitudinal slot e to release the carrier, as above explained, a'nd then by the action of the shoulder 71/ on the key and the continued pushing in of the key causes the carrier to slide inward toward the end disk e3. During this inward movevment the carrier causes the pin c2 to act upon the bell-crank, as aforesaid, and through the intervention of the shoulder ct on the rod a2 withdraws the bolt A and unlocks the door.

- As the key is withdrawn the spring A reacts By these means when the tumblerand by causing the bell-crank to resume its normal position returns the carrier to its original position, whereby the tu mblers again arrive opposite the slots e' in the sleeve E, with which they engage under the influence of their springs d3 and relock the carrier in its fixed position. I prefer to arrange at the front end of the carrier an auxiliary tumbler D', Fig. 5, the nose of which does not project into the slots iu the sleeve E, and I form the key with an annular depression h2 to engage with said tumbler D when the key is fully home in the carrier. Such tumbler then temporarily con nects the key with the carrier, so that the latter can be moved inward and outward by the key as it is thrust into or withdrawn from the keyhole. By these means the outward movement of the carrier does not depend wholly upon the spring A for returning it to its normal position, and I am therefore enabled to employ a comparatively weak spring A,whose resistance to the movement of the bolt A when v the latter is being retracted by pushing in the carrier is very'slnall. v The said depression 77.2 should not be made too deep; otherwise difficulty will be experienced in disengaging it from the auxiliary tumbler when the key is to be withdrawn from the keyhole or thrust therein. With a key of the kind illustrated in Figs. 8 and 9`the keyhole e5 in the boss E is of circular formation, as shown at Fig. 3, the said hole being arranged in a conical or similar cavity e6 in the boss E. Such conical cavity serves as a guide to direct the point of the key properly into the hole. I-Vithout this conical cavity difficulty7 might be experienced in putting the key into its keyhole owing to the small diameter of the latter.

In order to avoid as much as possible the entrance of dust or the insertion of foreign particles into the keyhole e5, I prefer to make it with radial slits e7, as illustrated in Fig. 12, and the key is then constructed in the form represented in Figs. lO and ll-that is to say, instead of being circular in cross-section, as in Figs. 8 and 9, it is formed with longitudinal radial ribshg, which fit the slits e7 in the keyhole. The surfaces h for acting upon the tumblers are formed in the edges of all of the said ribs and serve identically the same purpose as the annular recesses h in the key shown in Figs. 8 and 9. The head II of the key, especially when said key is made in accordance with Figs. l0 and 1l, is preferably connected to the spindle portion by a swivel-joint, so that the said spindle portion can turn and adapt itself to the position of the radial slits e7 as the point of the key comes against the conical cavity e and enters the keyhole.

In the event of any of the tumblers being moved out of the slots c beyond the position necessary to bring their noses into the longitudinal slot e in the sleeve E, as already described, they will enter the series of slots e2. Therefore notwithstanding the fact that the IOS IIO

tumblers may all be disengaged from the slots e even if onlyone of them be shifted beyond the proper position it will enter one of the slots c2V and still prevent the carrier C from being shifted longitudinally. It Will consequently be obvious that it would be a task of extreme difficulty.(without the proper key) to so move all the tumblers that their noses would be shifted only just far enough to be disengaged from the series of slots e and not too far to come into engagement with the other series of slots e2. Moreover, it will be readily understood that in the construction of locks and keys according to my invention a very slight alteration in the position occupied by the tumblers with respect to one another and of the position and depth of the acting surfaces of the key will render one lock incapable of being opened by any other than the identical key made for it. Therefore although a number of keys all very similar in appearance may be obtained only that one which has the requisite depth and position of depressions in it will act properly upon all the tumblers of a particular lock to bring them into a position to lie exactly between the two series of slots e e2 in the sleeve E.

What I claim isl. In a lock the combination with the carrier longitudinally movable in afixed sleeve,

of a series of tumblers pivoted in said carrier and normally resting with their side edges projecting a suitable distance into a longitudinal cylindrical aperture in said carrierlying transversely to said tumblers, the ends of the latter being engaged in slots formed in a fixed part transversely to a longitudinal channel into which said slots open,^and a key of symmetrical form throughout having a series of annular acting surfaces for liberating the said tumblers from said slots and bringing their ends Yin said longitudinal, channel to permit the carrier to move longitudinallyin its sleeve, substantially as described and for the purpose specified.

2. In a lock, the combination with a tumbler-carrier movable longitudinally in a fixed sleeve, of a lever operated by said movement to draw the bolt, a series of tumblers pivoted in said carrier and partly projecting transversely into a longitudinal opening in the earrierthe ends of said tumblers normally resting in transverse slots which open into a longitudinal channel in the sleeve, said slots having suitable continuations upon the opposite side of said channel, and a key having a sym metrical shape and provided with annular acting surfaces to engage the tumblers projecting into the longitudinal opening and carry their ends out of the transverse slots into the longitudinal channel in the sleeve whereby the tumbler-carrier can be moved to` draw the bolt, substantially as described.

3. In a lock, the combination of a cylindrical tumbler-carrier provided with means for actuating a door-fastening device by slid- 1ng endwise, and having a longitudinal hole therein of a series of transverse tumblers pivotally mounted in said carrier with a portion of I theirinneredges projecting into said hole, of a fixed cylindrical sleeve surrounding the carrier and formed with two series of transverse slots separated by a single longitudinal slot,

gitudinal slot when said key'is thrust into the said hole to release the carrier substantially as described.

4. In a lock, the combination ofa cylindrical tumbler-carrier provided with springcontrolled means for actuating a door-fastening device by sliding endwise 'and having a longitudinal hole therein, of a series of transverse tum blers pivotally mounted in said carrier with a portion of their inner edges projecting into said hole, of a fixed cylindrical sleeve surrounding the carrier and formed with two series of transverse slots and a sin'gle longitudinal slot for the noses of the tumblers to engage with, of a symmetrically-shaped key formed with a shoulder at its front end to engage with a correspondingly-shaped cavity at the inner end of the carrier the said key having series of annular acting surfaces for operating the tumblers when the key is thrust into the said hole substantially as described.

5. In a lock, the combination of a cylindrical tumbler-carrier provided with springcontrolled means for actuating a door-fastening device by sliding endwise and having a longitudinal central hole'therein, of a series of transverse tumblers pivotally mounted in said carrier with a portion of their inner edges projecting into said hole, of a fixed cylindrical sleeve surrounding the carrier and formed with two series of transverse slots and a single longitudinal slot for the noses of the tumblers to engage with, of an auxiliary tumbler unprovided With-'a'nose, and of a symmetrically-shaped key having series of annular act-A ing surfaces for operating the tumblers when it is thrust into the said hole, and formed with a shoulder at its point to engage with a correspondingly-shaped cavity at the inner end lOO IIO

of the carrier, the said key being also formed I with an annular depression to engage with the said auxiliary tumbler when the key is fully thrust into the lock so that in the act of attempting to withdraw the key the sliding carrier will be assisted to return to its normal position substantially as described and for the purpose specified.

6. In a lock, the combination with a tumi bler-carrier capable of movement longitudinally in a fixed sleeve, of a series of transverse tumblers pivoted at one end within the carrier and lying in planes transverse to a central, longitudinal opening into one side of which the edges of said tumblers project, two series of transverse slots formed in the inner face of the sleeve and separated one series from the other by a longitudinal channel in said sleeve, a pin attached to the carrier and extending into the lock=case, a bellcrank lever having one arm engaging ashoulder rigid with the lock-bolt and the other arm engaged by the pin on the carrier, and a key of symmetrical shape provided with annular acting surfaces to engage the tumblers and move them out of one of said series of transverse slots into the longitudinal channel in the sleeve, substantially as described.

7. In alock, the combination with a springthrown bolt of atumbler-carrier movable longitudinally transversely to said bolt in a fixed sleeve, said sleeve having in its inner face two series of slots separated by and at right .angles to alongitudinal channel in said sleeve,

1 having radially-projecting ribs provided with a plurality of annular working faces, the faces.

in the same annulus being alike onall thev ribs, said key being adapted to enter a longitudinal opening of like shape and engage the tumblers which project therein and move their free ends out of the series of slots in which they lie and into the longitudinal channel in the fixed sleeve, substantially as described.

8. AIn a lock, the combination with a fixed sleeve of a tu mbler-carrier movable longitu dinally, a series of tumblers pivoted therein, a pin on the carrier extendinginto vthe lockcase, means operated by said pin to draw the bolt by the movement of said carrier, a'key having a symmetrical shape and provided with a series of annular working faces to engage the tumblers and move them out of a l series of transverse slots in which their free ends lie, into a longitudinal channel in the sleeve and an auxiliary tumbler pivoted near the front of the carrier andv having its end out of the transverse slots, said tumbler being adapted to engage an annular depression in the key when the latter is properly inserted, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand, in presence of two subscribing Witnesses, this 23d day of September, 1898.

LQUIS SILVERMAN.

Witnesses:

F. MCLELLAN, FRED C. HARRIS. 

